Nutty Girl

Molly Moore’s business may be called Nutty Girl, but she’s not so nutty. In fact, Moore makes yummy, healthy products that help support education for girls around the world while encouraging mindful snacking.

Moore was a general manager at Libby’s Restaurant in Sarasota in 2016 but knew that restaurant management wasn’t her passion. One day while working and studying for a master’s degree in hospitality management at the University of South Florida, she bought a raw foods cookbook and made walnut chocolate energy balls on a whim. That quickly spiraled into the idea of starting a business selling healthy, nut-based foods.

“I believe this was a gift, and I was ready to receive it,” Moore says.

Moore decided to leave her job as a manager and return to bartending so she could dedicate her off hours to growing her business. She incorporated Nutty Girl in 2018.

Nutty Girl products include Girlnola (aka granola), available in original and keto. The keto versions are low-sugar and low-carb. Flavors include original, pumpkin, peanut butter, and “Coco Loves Choco-Lot.” All flavors focus on healthy natural ingredients like nuts and seeds, raw almond butter, Himalayan sea salt, and organic flaxseed. The granola is super-duper tasty in yogurt, as a cereal, or spread on an apple with almond butter.

Nutty Girl also now has a popular Good Carb Cookie that’s made with green banana flour, which has fiber and gut-healthy prebiotics. There are also Girlnola bars.

Although many local food entrepreneurs start to grow their business at local farmers’ markets, Moore always envisioned her products being sold through supermarkets. One day at work, she even envisioned how her products would one day be available at the Morton’s Gourmet Market across the street from Libby’s.

That vision has led to Nutty Girl products now being available not just at Morton’s but at some Detwiler’s and Earth Origins locations across the Sarasota area, in addition to other stores around Southwest Florida and outside of the state.

Nowadays, Nutty Girl participates at the Farmers’ Market at Lakewood Ranch and the Corey Avenue Sunday Market in St. Pete Beach. The markets give the business great exposure, but her main focus is still on finding a distributor to make Nutty Girl products more widely available throughout the Southeast.

A portion of Nutty Girl’s earnings help support a New York– based nonprofit organization called She’s the First, which helps to fight gender inequality through education. Moore is also active with the local chapter of the nonprofit group Girls Inc.

Moore and her father, Michael Moore, a former COO of Venice-based Tervis Tumbler, are operating partners. She jokes about sending the high-powered COO to run errands. “I don’t know who loves it more, me or him,” Moore says.

> Nutty Girl: nuttygirl.com